2010- The Year that Was

2010 is a year that will be remembered, forever. For the good, or for the bad, it will be remembered as the year the Walker Trust bid farewell to the club, and Indian organisation, Venky's took control. It will be remembered for Ryan Nelsen and his marshalling of supreme underdogs New Zealand at the 2010 World Cup, defying all odds to be the only team undefeated at the Cup. And it will be remembered for us being linked to almost every player to have either scored a goal in there respective league, or made a tough rash tackle.....

So where do we begin!

It all started all the way back in January, when we played Aston Villa about 46 times. Boy arent we wishing we played them in their current form, rather then back then where they disposed of us in the cups, with the big semi final finishing 6-4 after Rovers taking an early 2 goal lead, followed by the red card to Chris Samba. We did seek revenge in the league though, doing the double against the high flying Villans. January will also be remembered for the month that we trialled about 67 players, negotiated with another 98, ended up with Amine Linganzi and sold off Benni McCarthy....

February saw disaster strike. Rovers lost one of their very own, Mr John Taylor passing away after an incident against Stoke. Once again, on behalf of all here at Blackburn, our most sincere condolences to the family of a man who simply was enjoying his beloved outfit play. God Bless.....February also saw our first female VBER, Bennipoo!!!!! We got ya! Now get your friends in here! Another sad day plagued February, Portsmouth went into administration. Sam and Rafa Benitez continued their long running battle in the press, prior to Liverpool coming triumphant 2-1.

March will be remembered for the emergence of a star. Phil Jones made his English Premier League debut against league leaders Chelsea, and was epic as he held Didier Drogba and co to a draw, throwing the title race open. What a day it proved to be for the young man. Rovers were also crowned Kings of Lancashire, beating fierce rivals Burnley 1-0 thanks to a David Dunn Penalty.

April saw the youth generation take over. Nzonzi, Olsson, Jones and Kalinic had become key players in the Sam Allardyce formula. And it was Manchester United who fronted the force of Ewood Park, their title charge halted by a Vince Grella inspired Rovers, the man actually playing a full 90 minutes! Keith Andrews found himself in hot water after a bottle throwing incident whilst yours truly continued to update VBERS of the upcoming trip to Australia!

The 25th of April was also a sad day. Burnley were officially relegated......!

May was a month for the believers. Blackburn outplayed Arsenal, and got all 3 points. Phil Jones signed a new super 5 year contract, Grant Hanley starred as Blackburn did the double over Aston Villa, finishing the season just outside the top 10. And then once again, we were linked....to everybody! Morten signed a new 4 year contract whilst we bid farewell to the injury plagues Steven Reid.

June dragged on, but Olsson signed a new 5 year contract, the future was being set out. Ryan Nelsen inspired New Zealand to 3 draws against Paraguay, Italy and Slovenia, whilst Vince Grella and Brett Emerton's Aussies ended up with a draw, win and loss. The Pommies progressed but not too far, and Spain were crowned champions.

And so Rovers came to Australia in July, and were stalked down by myself and Oziroversfan, rain hail or shine. And what a week it was. Whilst only beating the local outfit Sydney FC, Blackburn entertained, with fans mingling with the players, and Sam Allardyce entertaining us with a few off the cuff remarks. It was a great week, meeting our players, watching them play live and sharing a beer with a fellow VBER!

And it all started in August again, MB Diouf getting his Rovers career off brightly with a few goals, Paul Robinson retiring from International football, and talks of a takeover increasing.

September saw Sam catching up in the press with good old mate Arsene Wenger, and also give Nzonzi a bit of a beating, claiming the young star was not in the right mind. Villa managed to knock us out in the cup again (dejavu). El Hadji Diouf continued his brilliant start to the season with some great individual performances, whilst Robinson played like a man on a mission, showing Capello what he had missed out.

October saw the first mention of Kentaro and Venkys as potential new owners, jumping into pole position ahead of Shah and AL Syed. Goulon was signed on a free, whilst Nelsen publicly praised Samba and acknowledged it was time to hand over the captaincy. Blackburn should of put away Chelsea, with Roberts missing a sitter late on, and it was the last Chelsea victory for a while.

November saw Roberts shatter the critics, scoring 2 winners in successive games to earn Blackburn a valuable 6 points. Benjani also scored his first and vowed to score many many more. Jason Brown copped a spray after claiming he was happier at Leeds. But the big news was reserved for Venkys, as they completed their 43 million pound takeover of our beloved club. Just in time for them to witness the smashing at Manchester United....7-1!

And so came December....Sam Allardyce got the boot. The poor bugger had done little wrong but was not deemed to be part of the plans of Venkys, with Steve Kean given the gig. A Draw, Win and Loss to start his tenure in charge. It saw Sas catch up with Morten Gamst Pedersen, an exclusive for the site, and a positive way to end up the season after the controversy that preceeded it!

So that Was 2010, hope you enjoyed the read.

Most Importantly, have a safe and alcohol infused New Years, but please remember, if you drink, dont drive!!!